The lack of English talent in the Premier League is the subject of much debate this week following Greg Dyke’s FA Report into English football.
There is a common theme to the criticism of the kind of players England produces; deemed not technical or creative enough with the onus on being combative and hard-working.
However, a glance through this season’s Premier League stats doesn’t necessarily back this up. For one, three of the top four assists makers in the Premier League are English in Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Ricky Lambert.
What’s more, four English players top the charts of most passes per game with Michael Carrick, Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick and Leon Britton all showing an ability to control a game from central midfield.
This is something England as a national team consistently struggle with but these stats suggest the players are there who can do such a job. Another age-old stereotype for English players is their love for a tackle but actually, only one English player features in the top 13 for tackles per game. That player is Liverpool’s Jon Flanagan with most of the list made up of foreign central midfielders. So perhaps the stereotype of a tough-tackling but technically inferior English midfielder isn’t as true as we are led to believe. One aspect of English footballers that is backed up by the stats is their hard-working nature. In a list of the most distance covered as a whole for the season, as of April 11th, seven of the top eight were English. Another string to the bow of an English contingent that isn’t always as predictable as portrayed.
